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Historical Summer Events

The summer is an exciting time in history and June seems to be an especially busy month. Two weeks ago was the 70th anniversary of D-Day. This week is the anniversary of several diverse events including the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 and almost two hundred years later the 1972 arrest of five men for burglary of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington D.C. The Statue of Liberty arrived in over 200 crates from France into New York harbor on June 17, 1885. Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and on the same date in 1983 Dr. Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space as a member of a Challenger mission. On June 12, 1987 President Reagan made one of his most famous speeches when he challenged the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. As the Bugler goes to print, we have all had the thrill of watching our 41st President, George HW Bush, glide across Kennebunkport, Maine as he skydived from a helicopter to celebrate his 90th birthday. St. Louis is also celebrating its anniversary.

Happy 250th St. Louis

St. Louis, the gateway to the west, is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. The Missouri History Museum has an extraordinary collection of exhibits including "250 in 250: A Yearlong Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of St. Louis." The exhibit's website asks the question "How do you tell 250 years of St. Louis history in one exhibit? The Missouri History Museum does it through the stories of 50 People, 50 Places, 50 Images, 50 Moments, and 50 Objects."

Some of the 50 people include a German immigrant, Adolphus Busch, who came to St. Louis in 1857 to help his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser, who owned a struggling brewery. Nine years later Busch introduced lighter ale named for a small Czechoslovakian town, Budweis. As they say, the rest is history.

Charles Lindbergh was an airmail carrier who joined the race to win the $25,000 prize offered to the first person who could make a solo transatlantic flight between New York and Paris. He was "definitely the dark horse in the competition. Under the sponsorship of several St. Louis businessmen, Lindbergh commissioned the construction of a monoplane powered by a Wright radial engine. He named it the Spirit of St. Louis."

Chuck Berry, the father of rock and roll, got his start in the clubs of St. Louis and East St Louis. Berry is now in his 80s but "Berry still performs monthly at the Blueberry Hill Duck Room in the Delmar Loop" of St Louis.

Dred and Harriett Scott were also from St. Louis. They were enslaved and they sued for their freedom in 1846 and "eleven years later, their case (the Dred Scott Case) finally made its way to the Supreme Court." Although they lost their case they are still remembered as major forces in the freedom fight.

The museum and website contains pictures of places and images that one can explore and the "Moments" section is also fascinating. Click on the sight and listen to first person retellings of such events as a visit to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, a frozen Mississippi River, or a first trip of the Arch.

So if you happen to be in St. Louis be sure and visit the Missouri History Museum. The 250 Exhibit will be in place until early February 2015 and is an exciting time for the city and the history of our country.

Glendale and ParadeStore.com

Glendale outfits honor guards, color guards, and drill units. Visit our site for the best in parade and drill equipment and for uniform accessories at http://www.ParadeStore.com